Process to Unlock Biometrics May Begin Soon with CAA Implementation: Assam CM Himanta

Guwahati: Amid the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that soon a process to unlock the biometrics of those frozen during the updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) might begin.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Himanta said, "I will discuss the process with All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and other stakeholders and hopefully a solution will be reached soon after the elections."

He further added that during the last two years, the state government was doing the groundwork to dispel doubts raised about the CAA and now it is clear that anybody who came after 2014 will not be given Indian citizenship.

As per the news agency PTI, the biometrics of some 27 lakh people in the state were locked and they could not get Aadhaar cards.

The Chief Minister asserted that not a single person would come to Assam through the CAA and only those who had applied for NRC would get citizenship.

Admitting that blocking biometrics created problems in getting ration cards and employment, the CM assured that the government would resolve the matter.

He urged people not to be guided by emotion but by sound logic on the CAA issue.

''We have already captured the data by the NRC process and those not included in the list would have anyway got citizenship through the Foreigners' Tribunal, if not the CAA'', Himanta said.

He expects some six lakh people, three lakh each from the Barak and Brahmaputra valleys, to get citizenship and not 20 lakh as being spread by certain sections.

(With PTI Inputs)